Husband Charged With Murder Weeks After Wife's Body Was Found

Michelle Long's body was found in late June. Now her husband is in custody and charged with her murder. NBC10's Lauren Mayk has the details on how police connected him to the crime.

(Published Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017)

Six weeks after a woman was found in her backyard swimming pool beaten to death, prosecutors in South Jersey charged her husband with "purposely or knowingly" causing her death and trying to cover his tracks.

Norman Long allegedly ordered food at a local restaurant as part of that effort, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Norman Long is accused of murdering his wife, Michelle Long, and trying to trick authorities by placing her in their pool and claiming she had drowned.

The death of Michelle Long was ruled a homicide after the county medical examiner determined the 47-year-old woman died of blunt force trauma. Her body was found June 17 at her home, which is located on the cul-de-sac of Forrest Court in Woolwich Township, prosecutors said.

"Mr. Long killed his wife inside their home then placed her fully clothed body in their backyard swimming pool," Dalton alleged.

"The information that he provided was not consistent with the evidence," Dalton said.

In addition to first-degree murder, the 51-year-old suspect also faces a count of concealing evidence and obstruction for placing his wife's body in the pool and "disposing paper towels containing the blood of Michelle Long in the kitchen trash can," Dalton said.

Long "became combative" while CPR was being administered to his wife on June 17 and had to be restrained, according to a police report. A small dog was also found dead in the pool when police arrived around 8:35 p.m.